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IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS (MARCH 13, 2018): The 10th annual report on the death penalty in Iran by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and ECPM shows that in 2017 at least 517 people were executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This number is comparable with the execution figures in 2016 and confirms the relative reduction in the use of the death penalty compared to the period between 2010 and 2015.
Nevertheless, with an average of more than one execution every day and more than one execution per one million inhabitants in 2017, Iran remained the country with the highest number of executions per capita. 2017 Annual Report at a Glance: At least 517 people were executed in 2017, an average of more than one execution per day111 executions (21%) were announced by official sources.Approximately 79% of all executions included in the 2017 report, i.e. 406 executions, were not announced by the authorities.At least 240 people (46% of all executions) were executed for murder charges - 98 more than in 2016.At le…

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Indonesia's Drug Policies Should Place Emphasis on Treatment and Prevention: UN Representative

"Drug kingpins and members of organized crime syndicates — you
never hear about them getting arrested," - UNDOC's Jeremy Douglas

Jakarta. Indonesia's anti-drug policies should focus on combating organized crime and implementing new treatment and prevention programs to curb rising narcotics use in the country, a United Nations regional representative said on Monday (17/04).

According to Jeremy Douglas of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, many nations struggle with shifting from well-established punitive measures to more prevention-orientated policies for narcotics-related offenses.

Since President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo took office in 2014, his administration has worked to enact tough anti-drug policies, issuing harsh penalties for individuals caught possessing drugs.

Indonesia also upholds the death penalty for severe drug offenders, a policy widely criticized by the international community and human rights activists.

While most countries in Southeast Asia still uphold the death penalty for drug-related crimes, Douglas cited existing data to prove that narcotics use in the region has only worsened in recent years, especially in regards to methamphetamine production and distribution.

"The death penalty has not deterred traffickers and organized crime, and sadly most of those who receive the death penalty are usually couriers," Douglas said in an interview with the Jakarta Globe.

He emphasized that people caught in possession of narcotics are usually low-level criminals, not major drug runners.

"Drug kingpins and members of organized crime syndicates — you never hear about them getting arrested. So where's the deterrent factor? You just don't see it," Douglas said.

In order to truly deter drug users and implement effective preventive measures, UNODC recommends governments enact a multi-pronged approach to combat the syndicates responsible for producing and distributing narcotics.

"That means the big kingpins; they have been operating in the region basically with immunity, and they have been for years — we don't even know their names," Douglas said.

Treatment and Prevention

In order to halt increased narcotics use, governments must first provide drug users with safe and effective treatment options, according to UNODC.

The dedicated UN body also said the most effective treatment scenarios are voluntary, adding that governments that criminalize those seeking treatment will ultimately discourage users from quitting.

Douglas said community-based treatments – through health centers and existing networks – can be very effective, especially in countries that have well-established facilities.

Healthcare practitioners can be trained to identify different levels of addiction and provide treatment in accordance with a user's dependency.

"Most users – we estimate around 90 percent – do not need to actually live in their respective treatment centers. The majority can seek out-patient counseling on how to reduce their substance use," Douglas said.

Such focused efforts are more likely to generate positive results, according to UNODC. In addition, preventative measures adopted by communities, and even by national education systems, can be effective ways to combat rising substance abuse in the country.

Ultimately, the Jokowi administration should implement national drug policies specifically tailored to meet those needs and lessen punishments directed at those willing to seek treatment, Douglas said.

Reducing Drug Demand

Part of UNODC's core work in Indonesia is in assisting and supporting the government to address a number of key issues the country currently faces. Those include helping to eradicate high-level corruption, combat transnational organized crime, prevent future terrorist acts, improve criminal justice systems and respond to challenges presented by increased drug use and the spread of HIV.

However, reducing the demand for illegal drugs is one of UNODC's main focuses, to which Douglas attested that a national drug survey is required to fully understand the situation the country currently faces.

The results of such a survey, Douglas said, can help guide effective treatment and prevention programs unique to respective communities across the archipelago.

The adoption of new programs would see drug users screened through treatment facilities rather than being thrown in jail, Douglas said.

Nearly seventy percent of current inmates in Indonesia were charged on drug-related offenses, according to a 2015 study from think-tank Penal Reform International.

Douglas has served in his current position since 2013, overseeing and managing operations and strategies across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He will attend an Asean-UN summit in Jakarta later this week.

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DPN opposes the death penalty in all cases, unconditionally, regardless of the method chosen to kill the condemned prisoner. The death penalty is inherently cruel and degrading, an archaic punishment that is incompatible with human dignity. To end the death penalty is to abandon a destructive diversionary and divisive public policy that is not consistent with widely held values. The death penalty not only runs the risk of irrevocable error, it is also costly to the public purse as well as in social and psychological terms.The death penalty has not been proved to have a special deterrent effect. It tends to be applied in a discriminatory way on grounds of race and class. It denies the possibility of reconciliation and rehabilitation. It prolongs the suffering of the murder victim's family and extends that suffering to the loved ones of the condemned prisoner. It diverts resources that could be better used to work against violent crime and assist those affected by it. Death Penalty News is a privately owned, non-profit organization. It is based in Paris, France.Your donations to Death Penalty News DO make a difference.